Flipkart Wholesale, the e-commerce company’s digital B2B marketplace, has partnered with SME lending platform Davinta to start providing all of its retailers with a “Buy Now Pay Later” credit facility.
‘Buy Now Pay Later,’ or more commonly referred to as BNPL has appeared as a credit revolution from new-age fintech companies. They are proposing this as an alternative to customers who are struggling to procure traditional credit instruments such as credit cards.
Adarsh Menon, Senior Vice President and Head of Flipkart Wholesale, stated that one obstacle the company seeks to overcome is access to inexpensive and transparent credit to Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). He also added in his statement that, “Partnering with Davinta will give members on our platform access to credit with a single click. The experience for the retailers is seamless and completely digital and was only possible because both our organizations take a technology-first approach.”Â
As the collaboration evolves stronger, this framework will empower more and more of Flipkart Wholesale’s Kirana and MSMEs members to benefit from accessible and affordable credit in favor of their growth on the platform, he added. This collaboration between Flipkart Wholesale and Davinta would offer a “Buy Now Pay Later” (BNPL) credit facility to kiranas and MSMEs.
Considering almost 60 million small businesses in India, a huge percentage of which are unable to secure traditional credit, BNPL provides a significant opportunity to drive financial inclusion. It gives these small business owners much-needed access to affordable credit. With the economy gradually returning to normal and the festive season approaching, customer demand is increasing, as is the curiosity for credit among retailers.
Numerous small retailers are eventually getting exactly the form of inexpensive credit they need to restart their businesses thanks to BNPL-style credit innovations, and fintech companies like Davinta are aggressively tapping into this massive market.
Davinta founded by ex-Flipkart CTO Ravi Garikipati and US-based entrepreneur Raj Vattikuti is a Bengaluru-based fintech startup that generally concentrates on micro-enterprises, and its main product, Vyaapaar Shakti, is a BNPL loan facility for small retailers. It is aimed to be used by small retailers as an instant credit facility for procuring supplies from online marketplaces or offline wholesalers.
Davinta CEO Garikipati commented on Flipkart’s partnership saying, “We are very excited with the opportunity to partner with Flipkart Wholesale and offer our BNPL product to the over 1.5 million members of Flipkart Wholesale.”
Flipkart Wholesale has also witnessed an increase in the number of suppliers joining the digital B2B marketplace. The supplier base is predicted to rise 58% by 2021, boosting the local business ecosystem as well as livelihoods. The company recently restructured its Best Price cash-and-carry division, which it bought from Walmart India in 2020. The company stated that it will continue to encourage the growth and prosperity of kiranas in India through an omnichannel business approach.